A vehicle sprocket chain maintenance apparatus comprising a brush for cleaning the vehicle sprocket chain, said apparatus is adapted to be mounted on a vehicle and used on the vehicle sprocket chain while running the vehicle.
The invention further relates to a method of using the sprocket chain maintenance apparatus according to the invention.
Bicycles are used for transport and sports all over the world. To keep a bike functional it is important that it is regularly seen to and especially that the sprocket chain is cleaned and lubricated. When bicycles are used in competitive sports, as for example mountain bike races or off road challenges, this need becomes even more pronounced and in many cases it is even necessary to clean and lubricate during a race. Usually the bicycle rider must stop and perform the cleaning and lubricating manually before continuing the race. This obviously delays the bicycle athlete and some times the time used in these stops can be crucial of whether a victory is earned or not. Similar problems regarding the constant maintenance of the sprocket chain exists on most sprocket chain driven vehicles, and even though the extent of the problems may vary from vehicle to vehicle depending on type and use the same need to keep the sprocket chain clean and lubricated exists.
Attempts have been made to make maintenance of sprocket chain and gears easier but all of these attempts have severe drawbacks. U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,588 discloses a gear cleaner for cleaning the speed change gear of a bicycle. A brush is mounted by the back wheel of a bike, positioned to be in permanent contact with the gear wheels of the speed change gear. As the brush cleans the gear parts constantly while running the bike the system has the severe drawback that the bristles of the brush are in permanent contact with the gear wheels. This causes a massive wear of the bristles of the brush and also applies a permanent pressure onto the gear wheels inducing a slight slowdown of the forward motion of the bicycle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,923 describes a bicycle sprocket chain cleaner. This device cleans the chain by means of brushes and solvent in a box to be releasably mounted on the bicycle chain. The major drawback of this device is that it cannot be mounted on the bicycle while the bicycle is being run. Furthermore, as detergent is in the device, there is a need to re-lubricate the bicycle chain after using the device.
Thus there is an unmet need for a device for cleaning a vehicle chain without the need for the vehicle rider to stop e.g. during a race.